Finishes – Page 23 – Feather Stitching

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Fun and productive stitchy weekend

11 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I dropped Barnabee’s Bride over to Karen at The Stitching Post yesterday, and she’s now sitting on display in the smalls cabinet. Alison joined me for the trip, and I had a wonderful time catching up with her before we made the drive – we had time to have a cup of coffee while I wandered around her stitching gallery and admired her beautiful stitched pieces on the walls … that was a real treat before we hit the road! I was dying to see Alison’s latest stitched piece from her blog, and the photo doesn’t do it justice … that wallhanging is just divine in real life (as is everything else)!!! 😀

Alison is always great company and we had an enjoyable drive chatting away the whole time. We arrived at The Stitching Post early, where I had a panic attack that the shop was closed, not realising it doesn’t open until 12 noon!! Phew!!!

Catching up with Karen and Brendon is always a treat – although poor Karen got absolutely no work done while we were there ‘cos we spent the entire hours of opening chatting away. I apologise in advance if extra hours are needed this week to catch up!

I was given a thank you gift from them for the model stitching that was totally unnecessary, but it will be treasured always. I am now the proud owner of one of Brendon’s jewellery pieces … isn’t this amber just amazing?? It will always be a reminder of their friendship when I wear it – thanks so much once again, Karen and Bren, I love it! 😀

I had an extra treat of seeing the first three of my framed pieces up on the wall – I didn’t realise they were there, or I would have taken my camera with me and taken a photo … but I intend heading back again in a fortnight with Mum when she comes to visit, so I’ll remember to take a camera with me then 🙂

What I can show you a photo of, though, is my latest finish – I truly ADORE this piece! As usual, because the photo is taken late in the afternoon without a flash or tripod the photography isn’t the best, but here it is in all its glory … in real life the colours really pop 😀

“Beach Roses” by Just Nan
Stitched on 28ct natural Cashel linen
using recommended threads (DMC)
and embellishment pack of charm and pearls

And don’t you just love the little scallop shells and starfish charm?? I sure do!! 😀

This project will likely head on over to my Trade page at some stage in the future – Nan was really generous with the beads, so there are still just enough pearls to complete the design again … but a charm will have to be bought separately. I’ll make an announcement post here when I eventually get around to updating my list after I clean out a few folders in the future.

Right now I’m not entirely sure what to stitch next – I’m quite keen to get some of my older WIP’s (they’re probably better categorised as UFO’s now, but we’ll stick with WIP’s for now LOL) finished, as well as getting a few more models stitched for Karen – so I think I’ll bring out one of my BAP’s to concentrate on (that’s already started, eg Mirabilia’s Winter Queen), and do a 10-hour rotation with 1 or 2 of those, with an LHN/CCN design or Christmas design/ornament inbetween – with any luck that’ll see me get at least one BAP finished before too long! 🙂

Hmmm, perhaps that’s what I should work on tonight … Winter Queen … but an LHN is calling … oh decisions, decisions … 😛

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Needlerolls, Stitching Smalls

Barnabee’s Bride is complete

9 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I managed to get all the finishing done on Barnabee’s Bride in time to drive her over to The Stitching Post tomorrow morning. She looks very cute (although I have a bit of wrinkling of the green wool when she’s rolled up, if I had more fabric I might have unpicked it and cut it a bit smaller, but it’s OK I guess), and I couldn’t resist taking a quick photo in the sunlight to show off her wee sparklies 🙂

Barnabee’s Bride (kit) by Just Nan

I forgot to take a photo of the needleroll opened out – I’ll take one later … if I remember … but I’ve run out of time to take one this morning, as I’ve now got to race off to work (I’m on the late shift today ‘cos I’m “on call” for the next 7 days in case of emergencies, which gave me time to quickly take these photos this morning).

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls, Twisted Oaks Designs

French Monogram tuffet

5 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Yippee, the stitching is now all finished, both front and back, so the tuffet is ready to be put together (which won’t be happening this week … but next weekend is looking good).

“French Monogram III Tuffet” by Twisted Oaks Designs
stitched on 32ct cream Belfast linen
with DMC 115 floss

I’m soooo happy to finally get the stitching on this one finished – it’s been a WIP (or perhaps more like a UFO of late) for far too long. It used to be my evening stitching when I was on the overnight shifts at work – that is until I found out I was one stitch out somewhere in the outside border, and only found out when I’d completed the whole thing. Mum very kindly took it upon herself while I was at work to find out where I’d gone wrong and unpicked it all for me … bless her heart! It’s amazing how quickly it’s stitched up once I had the time to concentrate on it without having to take phone calls inbetween stitches! Now I just have to stitch up the needlebook and fob to match … not sure whether I’ll do that straightaway now or pick up an older WIP … ah decisions, decisions … 🙂

I have to admit after my stressful night last night I’ve been taking it pretty easy today, and didn’t attempt to put together Barnabee’s Bride – I hope to get this finished during the week, however, so I can still take it over to Katoomba next weekend.

I did manage to get the food processor out this morning and after donning a surgical rubber glove onto my injured hand I finished off the soup, as well as cooking a whole new batch of soup with pumpkin, carrot and sweet potato. Lisa had that for dinner tonight, and apparently enjoyed it, so that’s good 🙂

As for the finger/fingernail, I changed the dressing tonight and I’m quite pleased with how it looks after I cleaned the dried ‘gunk’ off it – as long as I don’t bend the nail at all you can only just see where I sliced it through … thank goodness (and no, I didn’t attempt to actually bend the nail, last night was enough trying that little trick out!!).

Rightio, time to get into bed … so much for my planned early night tonight, as I coudn’t pack up the stitching until I put those final stitches in … now I can sleep a restful and happy sleep … helped along by a glass of Omrah Shiraz that I chose as my nightcap – that’s a wine that was recommended to me while I was in Perth, and I have to say it was a good recommendation! 🙂

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Just Nan, Needlerolls

Attack of the Frogs

3 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to stitch up this little piece – mainly due to numerous attacks of the frogs! If it was my own piece I’d probably have left two of the errors in it, as the larger blue flowers were one stitch out in their placement (I was quite impressed I managed to do that same error in both of them!) … and the border was unpicked three times as I’d managed to get loops and knots in the pearl cotton and not realised … mutter mutter mutter.

Barnabee’s Bride by Just Nan (kit)
(once again apologies for the bad photo – I’ll take a better one
once it’s all finished into the needleroll)

Anyway the stitching is finally all done, and all I have to do now is the finishing, which I hope to attempt tomorrow. Then this will be driven back home to The Stitching Post where it will live happily with its owner (I’m stitching this as a model for Karen).

As for the rest of today, it will be spent making a beef stew in the crockpot, along with a big pan full of pumpkin soup ready for the freezer.

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Stitch-alongs

Bleary-eyed finish

1 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I’ve been stitching madly over the last two nights trying to meet the deadline for the monthly ornie challenge on XSers Yahoo Group – unfortunately I missed the deadline by 1 hour, but it still felt good to get another ornie finished. I’ve been stitching until 12.30pm and 1.00am respectively the last two nights – the amount of stitching in those one was quite deceiving, especially all the backstitching!

“Checking It Twice” by Dragon Dreams, Inc
from 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine
stitched on 28ct hand-dyed Dried Thyme Jobelan
using DMC only (substituted RG Fuzzy Stuff with white DMC)
(sorry for the poor photo, but it was taken at 1.00am – the
colours look so much richer in real life!)

Next month I think I’ll start my ornie stitching much earlier to save the sleepless nights! My May ornie choice is Spool Ornament by Sue Hillis Designs.

Cross Stitch, Finishes

Tiny bit of stitching

11 April, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I’ve been really tired in the evenings this week, so haven’t been game to tackle my CA Wells project … instead it’s taken me three whole nights to finish off The Sampler Lady by LHN. Now the cooler weather has started to arrive, she’s been well overdue have her blouse put on. At one stage, though, she looked like the Venus de Milo in reverse, with only half a sleeve done. (Sorry for the bad photos – I might try to take better ones at the weekend, as I’ve taken these without much natural light coming in!)

“The Sampler Lady” by Little House Needleworks
Stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen
using recommended threads (Crescent Colours and DMC)
but I changed the thread spools by using a satin stitch
for the cotton instead of cross stitch to make it more realistic

I haven’t been online at all really this week – wish I could say I’ve been stitching my little heart out instead, but life has just gotten in the way (mainly work life). Mind you, it was really good to spend a couple of hours last night getting The Sampler Lady finished – it was the perfect end to a long and rigorous day spent writing up training procedures for a new product being launched.

Before I started stitching, however, I spent an hour on the phone to iinet to finally get a home ADSL broadband account set up and active … no longer will I have to rely on my little mobile internet connection (I’ve been having a few dramas with the providers of late ho-hum), but once we actually get the router connected, we can have wireless internet around the flat woohoo!!! 😀

Anyway, time to head to work, so I’d better run!! I may not get online again this weekend, as I’m earmarked the entire weekend for sitting in my stitching chair, and catching up on taped TV programmes, while stitching my heart out on CA Wells’ Cottage Etui … less than 2 weeks left to go for the class now and barely started! Oops …

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Final finish for the weekend

24 March, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I managed to take a photo of the finished needleroll that I stitched for Karen at The Stitching Post as a model for display – here it is all finished up as an actual needleroll, before I drove it over to Karen on Saturday.

“Shepherd’s Roll” by Shepherd’s Bush (kit)

I had a good time visiting with my best friend yesterday … although I have to admit those kids are enough to make you want to get your tubes tied! If I was living with that day in/day out, I’d need to be admitted to a lunatic asylum after a week!! To say they’re a handful is a true understatement … even my Mum, who has the patience of a saint where kids are concerned, would be ready to throttle Orion by the end of the night! Brenda and Nigel are already at breaking point after Athena managed to slam the sliding door shut while in ‘locked’ mode and broke the lock, meaning they now have to replace the entire door and doorframe, as it’s an older model and the new locks don’t fit. Can everyone say “not happy, Jan!!!”? – that’s a much politer version of what actually was being said and thought last night haha.

Anyway, even with the stresses of the night, it was still nice to see them again, especially wee Jayden the youngest fella, he stole my heart with his big cheesy grin every time he saw me -then he came running up to me at full speed and flung his arms around my legs for a cuddle before heading off to bed. He’s a real sweetie! I must admit, though, it was nice to have some ‘adult time’ after 8pm as we settled down to relax in front of a DVD … which means I managed to get a reasonable amount of stitching done too! I also gave Vicki her stitched gift (you may remember the Calico Crossroads quilted wallhanging I finished before Christmas), and she really liked it a lot. I also got a belated birthday gift of some scrummy Nelson ice wine and local Extra Virgin olive oil from Nelson as well … all I need now is some Dukkah and I’m set! 😉

Here’s a very poor photo of the whole family as we were settling down to a yummy pork roast dinner – I couldn’t get a decent photo of everyone in the twilight, so I gave up and this was the best of a bad bunch!

As for the stitching, in the end I opted to take a project already started instead of starting yet another new one – I took Lanarte’s Seahorse Collage with me, and got quite a bit done. Then I sat in front of the goggle box again this morning while watching Series 3 of Black Adder followed by Dante’s Peak, and managed to put the final stitches into this piece.

“Seahorse Collage” by Lanarte (from Sea Life booklet)
Stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
with DMC threads

That might be the last finish for the month, although yesterday I also managed to finish the hemstitching on my Snow Fall needleroll, so there will be a photo of that showing very very soon – just need to whizz up the seam and stuff it! 🙂

Before I forget … I have to say I saw the largest spider I’ve ever seen in my entire life when I got home at midnight last night! No word of a lie, the leg span would have gone from the tips of my middle finger down the entire length to the base of my palm … I nearly died on the spot!! As I parked my car I started walking over the grass to the path, and it was sitting on the grass in all its ugly glory – it had a big sac body as well, and its legs could have been half the width of my little finger. I opted to turn around and move my car quick smart! But it was so big, I was too scared to get up close to spray it … instead I ran for the safety of my little flat very quickly!!! I just hope I don’t run into it again any time soon … either that or I hope like hell it’s a fake rubber one that the obnoxious kids downstairs left outside, and it’s not real at all – they’re always leaving bikes etc in the driveway where we’re supposed to be parking our cars 😦

Rightio, on that note, time to toddle off again and go food shopping ready for the upcoming week … time to get back into normal eating habits again! 🙂

Cross Stitch, Finishes

On a roll … another finish under my belt!!

21 March, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I think my needles are possessed!! I can’t believe that I have yet another finish this week – I’ve been superglued to my stitching chair the last two days, and I’ve loved every single minute of it! I had a hair appointment today to get my hair cut and coloured by a work colleague’s sister-in-law, and I almost cancelled due to feeling unwell during the week, but I’m glad I didn’t as I felt a fair bit better today … and I’m now sporting a new hairdo just past shoulder length – after not cutting my hair for almost 6 months, it was really ratty so we had a radical chop done, and I love it! Just what the doctor ordered for cheering me up! 🙂

It also means by feeling better I should be able to drive over to Brenda and Nigel’s over the next two days to see my very best friend and her three children (one of whom I haven’t met yet), plus her Mum, as they’re over visiting from New Zealand. It will be really wonderful to see her again, as I haven’t seen her for about 3 years now.

Rightio, on to my latest finish – this has taken me a full two days to stitch, which really surprised me … thanks mainly to all the many colour changes and over-one stitched faces I think (my heart sank when I saw all the over-one stitching to be done, ho-hum). I’ve taken a couple of close-ups of the little frogs sitting in the cauldron, as well as the wacky hairdo in Kreinik braid – the colours literally pop right off the fabric, I just love the brightness of it!

“Another Girls Night Out” by Just Nan
Stitched on 32ct Vintage linen by Wichelt
using recommended threads

As for what’s up next for stitching, I really don’t know … I’ve been eyeing another couple of LHN designs up over the last 24 hours, either that or Drawn Thread’s Autumn Arbor that I’m really keen to start … I’m just really really loving stitching from my stash right now, and don’t want to stop the rhythm! 🙂

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Stitching Smalls

A whole lotta stitching going on

20 March, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I went back to the local GP today, and was MUCH more impressed with the doctor I saw today. I woke up feeling a bit dizzy this morning, a new symptom to add to the rest ho-hum … anyway after sitting for 1 1/2 hours in the waiting room at the medical centre everything got the better of me, and I was surprised to find a few tears escaping while sitting there. I think I’m just feeling generally ‘over it’ while struggling to get over these bugs. I felt more embarrassed than anything else by the time I saw the GP, but he definitely had a much better bedside manner than the woman GP I saw earlier in the week. As a new patient I was surprised she didn’t take a family history in general or take my blood pressure etc – I told her I had a small list of things to discuss with her, and her answer was “that’s not the way we do things here, we can only deal with the most important thing” hmmm.

Anyway, at least I have a medical certificate for these last two days, and the male GP has told me to come back to see him if I find I’m still having problems after Easter. I’ve picked up some herbal teas to help me to get fluids down me (at the GP’s suggestion), so fingers crossed my energy levels will pick up soon, and I can stop feeling sorry for myself!

The one great thing that being sick has done, is that it’s given me plenty of time for stitching – I’ve been stitching like a madwoman, and have finished another project – this is Bees scissors fob by Shepherd’s Bush … I replaced the WDW thread for the “Bees” word with a Stef Francis thread called Bluebell that KarenV gifted me with a while ago – I totally ADORE this colour thread, and it is soooooo pretty in real life! (Sorry about the blurry photo, but my hand kept shaking – I really need a tripod!!)

“Bees” scissors fob by Shepherd’s Bush
stitched on 32ct cream/antique white Belfast linen (can’t remember which!)
with DMC threads and Stef Francis “Bluebell” over-dyed floss

I actually should be stitching my CA Wells project pieces, but the terrible thing is that I have no desire whatsoever to stitch either of them – the projects don’t thrill me entirely, but also I need to concentrate on them both and I haven’t had the mental energy to do that for a while. Never mind, I guess I could still attend the class even if I don’t have any stitching done and learn how to put everything together … or fingers crossed, by the end of this weekend I’ll get my mental energy back and can make a start on the Cottage Etui.

In the meantime, it’s time to choose another fun stitching project for me to work on from my existing stash … I’ve been totally LOVING stitching this week and seeing all these finishes … I can’t get enough of it! Without my stitching I think I would have been in tears days ago haha 😀

Christmas Ornaments, Finishes, Stitch-alongs

Small ornie finish

19 March, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Still feeling like cr*p, so I took another day off work today to blob out … and managed to start and finish this ornie for this month’s SAL challenge on the XSers Yahoo group.

Poinsettia by Brittercup Designs
from 2007 JCS Christmas Ornament magazine
Stitched on 28ct mystery linen
Substituted threads with those in my stash – used GAST Gold Leaf, Crescent Colours Cupid and Weeping Willow

The Nurofen I’ve been chewing every day has been doing wonders for my foot, if nothing else! Probably helped by the fact I’ve been sat on my fat backside all day on my bed … 😉